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San Francisco Planning Department 85 POST STREET 1 Drafimwironmental Impact Report 00.272E Draft EIR Publication Date: May 12, 2001 Draft EIR Public Hearing Date: June 14, 2001 Draft EIR Public Comment Period: May 12-June 19, 2001 i 19 Written comments should be sent tor The Environmental Review Officer San Francisco Planning Department 1660Mission Street SanFrancisco, dj\ 94103 DOCUMENTS DEPT. ^^MAY 1 h 2001 FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY Thisreporthasbeenprintedonpost-consumerrecycledpaper/ESA200249 5/S San Francisco PublicLi REFERENCE BOOK Not to be taken from the Library JAN I * tuu* PLANNING DEPARTMENT City and County of San Francisco 1660 Mission Street, Suite 500 San Francisco, CA 94103-2414 PLANNINGCOMMISSION ADMINISTRATION CURRENTPLANNING/ZONING LONG RANGEPLANNING (415) 558-6378 FAX:558-6409 FAX:558-6426 FAX:558-6409 FAX:558-6426 DATE: May 12, 2001 TO: Distribution List for the 185 Post Street Project Draft EIR FROM: Paul Maltzer, Environmental Review Officer SUBJECT: Request for the Final Environmental Impact Report for the 185 Post Street Project (Case No. 00.272E) A This is the Draft ofthe Environmental Impact Report (EIR) forthe 185 Post Street project. public hearing will be held on the adequacy and accuracy ofthis document. Afterthe public hearing, our office will prepare and publish a document titled "Summary ofComments and Responses" which will contain a summary of all relevant comments on this Draft EIR and our responses to those comments; it may also specify changes to this Draft EIR. Public agencies and members ofthe public who testify at the hearing on the Draft EIR will automatically receive a copy ofthe Comments and Responses document, along with notice ofthe date reserved for certification; others may receive such copies and notice on request or by visiting our office. This Draft EIR together with the Summary ofComments and Responses document will be considered by the Planning Commission in an advertised public meeting and certified as aFinal EIR ifdeemed adequate. Aftercertification, we will modify the Draft EIR as specified by the Comments and Responses document and print both documents in a single publication called the Final Environmental Impact Report. The Final EIR will add no new information to the combination ofthe two documents except to reproduce the certification resolution. It will simply provide the information in one rather than two documents. Therefore, ifyou receive acopy ofthe Comments and Responses document in addition to this copy of the Draft EIR, you will technically have a copy ofthe Final EIR. We are aware that many people who receive the Draft EIR and Summary ofComments and Responses have no interest in receiving virtually the same information after the EIR has been certified. To avoid expending money and paperneedlessly, we would like to send copies ofthe Final EIR to private individuals only ifthey request them. Ifyou would like a copy ofthe Final EIR, therefore, please fill out and mail the postcard provided inside the back cover to the Major Environmental Analysis Office ofthe Planning Department within two weeks after certification ofthe EIR. Any private party not requesting a Final EIR by that time will not be mailed a copy. Thank you for your interest in this project. Digitized by the Internet Archive 2014 in https://archive.org/details/185poststreetdra1220sanf Son Francisco Planning Department 85 POST STREET 1 Draft Environmental Impact Report 00.272E Draft EIR Publication Date: May 12, 2001 Draft EIR Public Hearing Date: June 14, 2001 Draft EIR Public Comment Period: May 12 - June 19, 2001 Written comments should be sent to: The Environmental Review Officer San FranciscoPlanning Department 1660 Mission Street SanFrancisco, CA94103 Thisreporthasbeenprintedonpost-consumerrecycledpaper/ESA200249 3 1223 05971 9121 TABLE OF CONTENTS POST STREET PROJECT 185 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT Page SUMMARY I. 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION II. 9 A. Site Location and Project Characteristics 9 B. Project Sponsor's Objectives 20 C. Project Approval Requirements 20 III. ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING AND IMPACTS 23 A. Zoning and Land Use 23 B. Historic Architectural Resources 28 C. Visual Quality 43 D. Growth Inducement 52 IV. MITIGATION MEASURES PROPOSED TO MINIMIZE 53 THE POTENTIAL ADVERSE IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT Vo SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS THAT CANNOT BE 56 AVOIDED IF THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS IMPLEMENTED VI. ALTERNATIVES TO THE PROPOSED PROJECT 57 A. No Project 57 B. Design Guideline-Compliant 58 VII. DRAFT EIR DISTRIBUTION LIST 60 VIII. APPENDICES 66 A. Initial Study B. Building Design Details C. Vertical and Horizontal Rhythm Comparison IX. EIR AUTHORS AND CONSULTANTS 00.272E/185PostStreetDraftEIR ii ESA/200249 1 TABLEOFCONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES 1. Project Location 10 2. Ground Floor Plan 1 3. Second FloorPlan (Retail) 12 4. Sixth FloorPlan (Public Open Space) 13 5. EighthFloorPlan (Office) 14 6. West Elevation (Grant Avenue) 16 7. North Elevation (Post Street) 17 8. East Elevation 18 9. South Elevation 19 10. Map ofArchitectural Resources in the Project Vicinity 33 1 1. Photograph ofExisting Conditions - View Looking South on Grant Avenue 45 12. Photosimulation ofProposed Project - View Looking South on Grant Avenue 46 13. Photograph ofExisting Conditions - View Looking East on Post Street 47 14. Photosimulation ofProposed Project - View Looking East on Post Street 48 15. Photograph ofExisting Conditions - Close-up View ofProject Site Looking Southeast 49 16. Photosimulation ofProposed Project - Close-up View ofProject Site Looking Southeast 50 00272b/ 185Pos!StreetDraftEIR iii ESA/200249 CHAPTER I SUMMARY PROJECT DESCRIPTION A. (p. 9) The project site is one block east ofUnion Square in downtown San Francisco, at the southeast corner of Post Street and Grant Avenue. The 3,600-square-foot project site, situated within the Kearny-Market- Mason-Sutter Conservation District, is occupied by a vacant six-story-plus-basement structure that consists ofapproximately 15,400 square feet ofretail space and 10,800 square feet ofoffice space. The project would consist ofdemolition ofthe existing 26,200-square-foot building and construction ofa new ten-story-plus-basement, 130-foot tall building that would serve as the West Coast headquarters and retail store ofthe apparel company Prada USA. The new structure would contain approximately 39,300 square feet (sq. ft.), with part ofthe basement serving as storage and mechanical equipment space, display space and a reception area on the ground-floor, retail space on the second through fifth levels, open space on the sixth level, showroom space on the seventh level, office space on the eighth and ninth levels, and a private residential space on the top floor. In total, the project would provide approximately 4,400 sq. ft. ofoffice space, 6,800 sq. ft. ofretail space, 1,500 sq. ft. ofshowroom space, 1,700 sq. ft. of residential space, 2,250 sq. ft. ofopen space, and 22,650 sq. ft. ofstorage and other space. The proposed structure would be 42 feet taller than the 88-foot tall structure currently on the project site. The building's facade, which would extend to the site's property lines, would be composed ofstainless steel, stone, and glass. The matte-finished stainless steel structural skin, which would bear a substantial portion ofthe building's lateral load, would be articulated with circular windows and raised steel disks of varying size in a pattern that would express the floor slabs and grid ofsupporting steel beams and columns concealed by the facade.1 The perforations would also allow diffused interior lighting and glimpses ofinterior building uses to be visible from outside the building. The existing six-story-plus-basement building at 185 Post Street is constructed ofsteel and concrete. Built in 1908, but completely remodeled through numerous alterations beginning in 1951, it is a V Category (Unrated) Building (Building not Significant or Contributory) within the Kearny-Market- Mason-Sutter Conservation District and was rated "D" (Minor or No Importance) by San Francisco Architectural Heritage. Only the two publicly visible elevations, those facing Post StreetandGrantAvenue, wouldbe cladwith the articulated stainlesssteel skin. As such, subsequentreferences in this documentto the articulated facadeofthe proposedbuilding refer only to the two publicly visibleelevations. 00.272E/ 185PoslStreetDraftEIR 1 ESA/200249 SUMMARY I. The project's floor area ratio (FAR) would be 8.7:1, which exceeds the basic permitted FAR in the C-3-R District (without transfer ofdevelopment rights to the site) of6:1. However, the project would be within the allowable maximum FAR of9:1 with the transfer ofdevelopment rights. Because the project site is located within the 80-130-F Height and Bulk District, the proposed project would require an exception to exceed 80 feet in height. The existing site does not have parking or a loading dock, and no parking or loading accommodations would be provided as part ofthe project. Project construction, including demolition ofthe existing building, would take approximately 16 to 19 months, with opening ofthe proposed building planned for fall 2002. The project architects are Rem Koolhaas ofthe Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Brand + Allen Architects ofSan Francisco. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS B. This environmental impact report, for the 185 Post Street project, focuses on the issues ofhistoric architectural resources and visual quality. The historic architectural resource issue relates to the proposed construction ofa ten-story stainless steel structure within the Kearny-Market-Mason-Sutter Conservation District. The visual quality issue, which is closely related to the historic architectural resources issue, is based on the proposal to construct an architecturally distinctive structure at a visually prominent location near Union Square. All other potential environmental effects were found to be at a less-than-significant level or to be mitigated to a less-than-significant level with mitigation measures to be implemented by the project sponsor. (Please see the Initial Study, included in this document as Appendix A, for analysis of issues other than historic architectural resources and visual quality.) HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES (p. 28) The existing 185 Post Street building on the project site is not listed in the National Register ofHistoric Places or the California RegisterofHistorical Resources. In its statewide database ofhistorical resources, the State Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) does not list the 185 Post Street building. The existing 185 Post Street building is designated a Category V - Unrated Building in the Downtown Plan, is not identified in the Planning Code as a City Landmark, and was rated "D" - Minor or No Importance by San Francisco Architectural Heritage. The 185 Post Street building is an unreinforced masonry structure designated Risk Level 3 (meaning that retrofit must be completed by February 15, 2004, or the building must be demolished) and Priority IV building (meaning it is not deemed to have high historical/architectural value). The project site is located within the Keamy-Market-Mason-Sutter Conservation District, which Article 1 1, Appendix E ofthe Planning Code describes as follows: "The pattern ofdevelopment is one of small-scaled, light-colored buildings predominantly four to eight stories in height. The height and scale provide for a streetscape which is attractive to the pedestrian because ofthe comfortable scale and sidewalks. This dense area is the heart ofSan Francisco's retail and tourist sectors... ." 00.272t/185PosiSirc-iDraft 1-1R 2 ESA/200249